


Karasuno's Little Sister

by Mama May-Eye (Mama_May_Eye)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Big Brothers, Family Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Little Sisters, Team as Family, sassiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-29 02:57:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21403042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mama_May_Eye/pseuds/Mama%20May-Eye
Summary: The interactions between Karasuno's new baby bird and the team. Or, the team now has to deal with Hinata's little sister, Natsu, being there during after school practice. [Fluff and humor between Natsu and the team. No slash.]
Comments: 8
Kudos: 117





	1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Haikyuu! and its characters do not belong to me - unfortunately - they belong to their respective creators/owners.  
  


* * *

"Um, so," Shouyo Hinata trailed off sheepishly before plastering a smile on his face and finishing his nervous speech, "that's why Natsu has to stay with me after school from now on."

"Ah," Daichi began as he gathered his thoughts while staring at the orange locks of hair almost hidden behind Hinata's right leg. "Hinata-"

Suga cut in. "It's nice to meet you, Natsu_-chan_." He crouched down on his knees so he could be eye-level with the half-hidden, slightly glaring girl. "I hope we can be great friends," he said, smiling.

Natsu Hinata continued giving untrusting looks to the gathered team from behind her brother. Only when Hinata placed a hand on her head did she move, ducking away from the hand to position herself on the other side of his legs but ending with an accepting nod towards Suga, though the politeness was awkward. Hinata treated his abandoned hand like it was normal, not even bothering to take his eyes from his _senpais_.

"She's being shy right now," he offered.

Daichi sighed as he looked at the two. "Hinata, there really is no one else? No trustworthy neighbors?"

Hinata brought his fists up to his sides. "Not a one, captain! Otherwise, I would have left her with them; Natsu doesn't even like volleyball," over-reaction gasps could be heard from Nishinoya and Tanaka, "so I wouldn't want her to be bored or anything, but there's no one to watch her until I get home, and practice can run late."

Suga lifted a hand to rub his neck. "That's true..." He looked to Daichi.

Hinata nodded vigorously, body still keyed up to argue his point. "And Mom doesn't want to leave Natsu alone at the house anymore; she's starting night shift at her job again."

The team hummed in sympathy.

Daichi closed his eyes in thought. "...I suppose...if there is no one else. She can stay afterhours with the rest of us." He continued, cutting off Hinata's yell of triumph, "But she must always be accompanied by _you_, Hinata; take your responsibilities seriously, no handing her off to another teammate to watch."

"Yes, captain!"

"And you must leave practice at 7 o'clock or before. Children like her need their sleep and shouldn't stay out long."

"Yes, captain!"

"And make sure she is well-fed before she gets here or has snacks that she can eat during practice; no reason for her to get hungry while she's here."

"Yes, captain!"

"And she should probably have something to play with to keep her occupied-"

Asahi leaned over to Suga and whispered, "Daichi_-san_ seems more concerned for Natsu_-chan_ than Hinata is."

Suga stiffled a laugh.

Tanaka, who heard their exchange, interrupted Daichi's monologue. "Geeze, captain, you'd think she was _your_ sister, and not Hinata_-kun's_."

Daichi paused to give Tanaka a quieting look. He turned back to Hinata. "Got it, Hinata?"

"Yes, captain! I -we- won't let you down!" he said with a grin as he placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder, giving it a loving squeeze. "Natsu's a good kid, she won't cause any trouble."

"Yes, all you have to worry about is the team getting sidetracked and trying to play with her instead of practicing," Ukai commented as he stepped into the gym, having finished drinking his soda (instead of a good can of beer) outside of the gym.

Hinata responded to this by chuckling sheepishly while his sister switched her untrusting look/pout to the newcomer.

Suga smiled at the coach. "I'm sure Daichi can handle any waning attention."

"M- Yes, of course," said individual assured.

Ukai nodded. "Good to hear. On that note, let's get practice started."

"Yes!" chorused the team. They scattered to either take places on the court or to go to the locker room to change into uniforms.

Hinata lead his sister over to the spectator bench. He bent down to her eye level. "Okay, _onii-chan's_ gonna practice for a little while. Cheer me on, okay, Natsu?"

She puffed out a cheek. "If _nii-chan_ stops speaking to me like a baby, I might cheer for you instead of the other side."

"Wha-! Natsu, you'd root for the opposing team?"

She giggled at the look on his face. "Maybe."

"What about me!"

"I'll _think_ about it."

"You should always cheer for your brother, you know."

"_Nii-chan _shouldn't tell me how to be a sister."

Hinata sighed, giving up.

Tanaka laughed in the background, _Karasuno_ colors already displayed on his jersey. "I like her, Hinata. She acts like a miniaturized Tsukki!"

"Who acts like me?" said person asked as he and the other first years made their way to the locker room. He studied both siblings as he passed. He walked on, not bothering to ask about the situation. Yamaguchi followed in his wake.

Kageyama stopped in front of them. "Hinata, who is...?"

"Oh," Hinata perked up at his friend/rival, "this is my little sister, Natsu. We don't have anyone to watch her after school, so she's gonna hang out here with us during practice from now on." He smiled.

Kageyama studied them and shrugged. "Fine by me," he walked past.

Hinata turned back to his sister. "See, Nat-_chan_? Everyone loves you already!"

Natsu dodged the head pat with expert skill. "_Nii-chan_, don't you need to change?"

"Uh-"

"Hey, future ace, you still need to change, or have you forgotten your uniform like you do test answers?"

Hinata rushed to the changing room. "You are just as bad as me! Pan calling stove!"

"It's 'pan calling pot!'"

Yamaguchi raised an eyebrow beside Tsukishima. "The saying is 'pot calling kettle.'"

Tsukki sighed at the stupidity of his fellow first years. "Idiots."

* * *

**TBC...  
**

Post Script - Reviews help Hinata get over volleyball match stress.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Haikyuu! and its characters do not belong to me - unfortunately - they belong to their respective creators/owners.  
  


* * *

Natsu kicked her legs idly outside of the gym while her big brother went to get her a snack from the school vending machine. The gym was locked, the teacher in charge of the volleyball team running a few minutes behind. The team had yet to show up, held up by classmates or teachers or the like. She sighed and twisted her shoe heels into the dirt for lack of something to do. Footsteps approaching from the school building caught her attention, and she scooted back on her bottom so she could see better down the walkway.

The bespectacled teacher blinked in surprise when he noticed her. He resumed walking and smiled down at her, bending slightly when he got closer. "Hello, Natsu_-chan_. Where's your brother?"

She stood and studied him, placing him tentatively among the many faces she was introduced to yesterday. "..._Nii-chan's_ getting snacks."

"Oh," the teacher said, "well, the others will be coming any minute now, so I'm unlocking the gym for them. Do you want to wait inside for him?" He turned to the gym doors to unlock them after the janitor had already left for the weekend. He opened the doors with more flourish than he usually did, aware he had young eyes watching him. He turned back to her after not receiving an answer. "Want me to wait with you?"

She shook her head, curls slapping her face.

He accepted her decision with a slightly worried smile. "Well, come in whenever you want, okay, Natsu_-chan_?" He waved cheerfully at her and ascended the steps.

She watched him enter the gym and turned to go sit back down at her place on the sidewalk. She made herself comfortably and sighed. Her brother was taking his time getting a few snacks – snacks she didn't even want, but he had insisted and she didn't want him to get in trouble with his team leaders.

"Natsu_-chan_? Where's Hinata?"

She startled. She hadn't heard anyone approach. The child looked up...and further up. The behemoth of a student stared down at her, brown hair swinging forward to cloak his face in foreboding shadows. His muscles rippled underneath his school shirt.

"Uh..." she stared in apprehension and awe at his bulk.

The student made to move – toward her or not, she wasn't sure – and Natsu stumbled to her feet, backing up and out from the walkway from where he was.

A hurt expression came over his face. "Natsu_-chan_, you don't have to be afraid of me." He squatted down, and she backed to the side where she could use the walkway's support beam to hide behind while she watched him, now closer to the school than the gym. He smiled a too-wide awkward smile and lifted a finger to point to himself. "My name is Asahi. We met yesterday in this gym. You remember me, don't you? I'm Hinata's friend."

Natsu frowned at that. "Mama says you shouldn't go anywhere with strangers."

"Ah-? What-"

"Especially if they say they're friends of Mama or _nii-chan_."

Asahi gave a horrified expression and brought his hands up in defense. "No, no! I don't want you to go anywhere with me – I'm a good person." Then, as she continued to frown at him. "Promise!"

As Natsu continued to look at him, with his reactions and facial expressions, she realized that he probably wasn't as bad as he looked. "Hm," she hummed, putting a finger to her chin, "do you pinky promise that you're not a bad guy?"

Asahi leaned forward, knees hitting the ground. "I pinky promise."

"I don't knooow," she drew out the sentence with a slight smile like she'd heard her mom do over the phone to friends.

Sugawara walked out of the school building to the scene of Asahi pleading on the ground before a playful 5-year-old girl. "Are you two playing a game?" he asked as he stopped a few feet from Natsu.

Natsu looked at him, eyes more vibrant than yesterday when she was shy and scared of them. "Uh-huh!"

"We are?"

Natsu ignored the male on the ground. "We're playing 'Are You A Stranger or Not'."

"I'm not a stranger, Natsu-_chan_!"

She giggled towards the bemused Suga. "Asahi_-nii-chan_ isn't very good at playing this game. He's suspicious no matter what," she lied teasingly.

Asahi slumped in depression. "Suspicious...?"

Suga smiled at his friend. "Well, looks like the gym is open and ready. Natsu-chan," he waited to have her attention and placed his hands on his knees to get closer to her level without squatting down, "want to help me set up the volley ball equipment?"

She furrowed her brow in thought.

"I could use the help. I'm sure Hinata will be here any minute, though, if you want to continue waiting out here."

She nodded. "I'll help you."

Suga grinned and straightened, leading the way past Asahi and into the gym. "Oh, good. You must be so helpful at home, huh? Help your mom a lot, I bet," he said as he led her to the container that they used to wheel the volleyballs in, waving at Takeda-sensei as they passed.

Natsu nodded. "Uh-huh! I help Mama all the time. I help _nii-chan_, too."

"Oh? Does Hinata need help a lot?" he asked her as they wheeled the trolley toward the court together. He had to slow down and push less to match with her strides and strength.

Natsu responded, barely paying attention to where they walked, not that she could see over the container. "_Nii-chan_ forgets a _lot_ of things, and then he gets loud, too, so I have to remind him to be quiet. Mama says my job is to make sure _nii-chan_ remembers to do his homework."

"They sound like tough jobs."

"No, I can handle it. I'm strong."

"That's true. Here, we can leave it at this spot so the players don't have to go far to get a ball."

"Ohhh."

Suga placed his hands on his hips. "Thanks for helping me, Natsu-_chan_. Good teamwork." The girl lit up even more at the praise, and he lifted his hands toward her. "High five!"

Her excitement spread to her limbs in an imitation of her brother. She bounced forward, springing forward on her last hop, and slammed her palms against his as hard as she could.

Suga shook his hands. "Wow, Natsu_-chan_, you weren't kidding about your strength!"

"Hee hee!"

Asahi had entered the gym and was quietly stretching his limbs, face lost in thought. His hair had already been tied back into his customary style.

Suga watched him stretch for a few seconds. He bent down to Natsu. "Have you ever been really high up before, Natsu-_chan_?"

Natsu frowned at him in thought. "I don't know..." she said, not entirely understanding what the question meant.

"I'm just wondering. Because the nets can get dirty on top, you know?" He gestured to the volleyball net, set up and waiting. "The balls have germs on them, then they touch the net." In front of him, Natsu made a sound of understanding. He nodded, putting on a serious face. "We need someone to clean them sometimes. Asahi is just about the tallest player out of everyone, but even he can't see the top without having to jump."

"Uh-huh."

"Can you help us by cleaning the tops? You'll have to get on Asahi's shoulders-"

"Okay!" she agreed, not caring about the specifics so much as she did about being helpful to others. She grabbed the cloth Suga was holding out to her, a bemused expression back on his face, and ran over towards the brunette she had been apprehensive of minutes before.

Suga did not hear much of what she said, but shoulders were mentioned as Natsu pointed sharply to the top of the net. Asahi followed her finger, confused expression on his face. When Asahi looked to him to get an answer as to why this child thought the tops of the nets needed to be cleaned, Suga merely held up a thumb. Still confused, Asahi knelt down so he could be climbed like a jungle-gym.

When Hinata entered the gym, arms with snacks and trying to fend the others off of them, it was to see his sister squealing happily on top of Asahi's shoulders as he trotted around the gym like her own personal horse. Or giraffe, given the height. She held her arms out sometimes, while other times she grasped his head for support. He, in turn, took the corners carefully and always held her knees to make sure she stayed on.

"Go faster, Asahi!"

"I'm going pretty fast already, Natsu-_chan_..."

Hinata watched the duo trot around with a grin. It was always great to hear his sister so happy. Then Tanaka and Nishinoya sped past him.

"Asahi-_nii-san_, I want a turn next~!" Tanaka sang as he skipped toward them like a schoolkid.

"Let me up on your shoulders, big brother!" Nishinoya pumped his fists in the air.

Asahi gave them a scared look from over his shoulder. "You two are way past the weight limit."

"You sayin' I'm fat?"

"Natsu_-chan_, ride on my shoulders next – I'll show you how to do _Rolling Thunder_ after!"

Asahi sped up as they were chased around the gym by the teasing second-years. Natsu squealed again as she got her wish granted for Asahi to run faster.

* * *

**TBC...  
**

Post Script - Reviews help Natsu's wishes come true. (Not really).


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Haikyuu! and its characters do not belong to me - unfortunately - they belong to their respective creators/owners.  
  


* * *

She gazed out to the front of the elementary school gates. Parents and older siblings had just arrived to take their child home, many bodies arriving and leaving in a flow similar to waves at the beach. The more independent children whose homes were close to the school left on their own. Natsu watched the front of the school intently. Her teacher always wanted her to wait for her mother or brother inside the school, for safety, instead of outside like she preferred; she enjoyed running to them, and, if it was Shouyo, she would tackle him in a reciprocating hug.

She sighed as she placed her arms on the windowsill and lowered her chin to rest on them. This was the worst part of the day – the waiting. Because, she knew, people never showed up while you were watching the front gate. Then, as soon as you turn around to start playing with a toy in the classroom, they arrive and spoil the fun you had barely started. It was best to wait. She groaned lowly.

But waiting was so _boring_.

She had to admit that she was slightly more impatient today because of where they go after-school now. Her brother's high school was pretty plain, nothing special, but it was always exciting to be in a place that wasn't normally supposed to be visited. And also her brother's volleyball team – they were turning out to be lots of fun. She hadn't had a chance to talk to everyone yet. It was Tuesday of the next week, and she had been going to the Karasuno gym for only a few days. And some days they practiced for hours straight and were very tired afterward, so she and Shouyo sometimes left for home quickly.

Sometimes they both left beside teammates. Sometimes her brother would leave with just her while the other players stayed a while more. When these times happened, her brother would be quieter at first on the way home. He was disappointed, she could tell, that he couldn't stay just as long and practice. He never once blamed her, and he would perk up after they had walked a few feet, pushing the disappointment out of his mind with a ray of smiles and good cheer for her.

Still. She felt like she was the cause of the disappointment. Hopefully, today everyone would leave when her big brother did so he wouldn't be sad.

"Natsu, sweetie?"

Natsu turned to look at her teacher, who waved her to come closer. She did, and her teacher bent down to get eye-level with her.

"I just talked to your mother. Your brother got called in at the last second by a teacher to do a make-up test, so he can't come get you."

"Oh," she said as her head drooped.

Her teacher held her hand comfortingly. "But he asked a good friend to come pick you up and take you to him. Your mother told me you can leave with him when he gets here. Have you met Kageyama Tobio-_kun_ before?"

Natsu thought back to the group of players. Sometimes when they practiced in their alike uniforms, their names blended together in her memory. A shock of black hair and sometimes-mean-but-always-teasing words directed toward her brother entered her mind.

She nodded. "I think so, _sensei_."

Her teacher patted her hand proudly. "Want to wait with me outside for him?"

She nodded more excitedly. "Okay!" With that, she grasped her teacher's hand more firmly, leading the way like a big girl. Her teacher chuckled from behind.

They watched four more pairs of children-and-guardians leave before the high school boy rounded the gates. Now that she had seen his face, she definitely recognized him. He looked uncertain, like he might have the wrong school, so Natsu waved to him to get his attention. He didn't see her, but, when her teacher walked towards him while holding her hand, he noticed them.

"Hi, Kage-_onii-chan_!"

He sent a nod her way before looking at her teacher. "Um, Hinata-_san_ was supposed to call...?"

Her teacher smiled. "Yes, she did. You two are fine to go." She let go of Natsu's hand. "Natsu-_chan_, be good on the walk there." Natsu nodded, trying not to think of how often she got scolded for leaving adults behind or running too far ahead of them. "Hold hands."

"Yes, ma'am."

Her teacher gave her head a pat before saying bye and going back inside the school to finish up school dismissal. Natsu felt a hand brush hers, and she tilted her head to look at the high school boy.

"Ready to go?" he asked, somehow looking more out of place than anyone else there.

"Uh-huh," she replied and held onto his dangling hand as they turned to begin the trek to the Karasuno high school. Three minutes into the walk, she was swinging their joined hands back and forth with a song in her thoughts. People she knew stared after her, probably wondering where her brother was, but let them go unhindered. It was cloudy outside.

"Uh," Kageyama began beside her. He cleared his throat. "How was your day, Natsu-_chan_?"

"It was fine," she replied customarily.

He waited her to clarify. "...Did anything cool happen?"

"Not really." She kept swinging their hands happily.

"Oh..." he trailed off uncertainly.

Natsu wondered if he had any brothers or sisters, because he didn't seem used to kids. She asked him.

"No, I don't have any siblings."

Natsu hummed in thought. "You have _nii-chan_," she pointed out, recalling how they not-seriously always bickered with each other.

He coughed pointedly beside her. "Hinata's my teammate – and a spaz – not my sibling."

"Teammates can be _like_ brothers," she argued back.

Kageyama grew quiet, reflecting on her words. "If teammates are like siblings, I want to trade in some of them for new ones." He was clearly picturing a couple of specific people.

Natsu giggled. "You can't trade, silly! You're stuck with siblings no matter what." Her brother often declared this fact to her when he was being silly and doing something mischievous. Like hugging her to the floor and tickling her.

Kageyama frowned ahead. "Well, I guess I'll just have to deal with them, huh?"

"Uh-huh!" She resumed swinging their hands. They fell into silence, and passed the intersection going towards the school.

"So..." Kageyama trailed off awkwardly. "..."

"Hm?" she prompted.

"Uh...What- what are you learning in school right now?"

"How plants grow."

"Yeah? Er, is it interesting?"

"Sure! They have roots, and that's how they eat dirt to grow big and strong."

"..."

"Right?" she looked up at him when he stayed silent.

"Oh," he looked at her, "yeah. Um...not sure they eat dirt, but that sounds right to me."

"Uh-_huh_!" she argued back, tugging on his hand for added force to her words. "My teacher said flowers and plants eat dirt-stuff in the ground and grow big and strong!" She frowned up at him, ready to defend her intellectual point with all her soul. "They _do_! We watched a_ video._"

Kageyama held his hands up in defense. "I believe you. I don't know or remember anything about plants, so I'll take your word for it. Honored Natsu-_sensei_."

She giggled at that, and Kageyama gave himself a proud smile. Natsu then skipped ahead of him, hands swinging freely, toward the street-crossing where cars zoomed back and forth, and he felt a spark of panic – _oh-crap-jdhqodb# %!_ – and he had to run to catch up to her, snatching her hand up and tugging her back toward him so they could reach the street together instead of separately. He sighed to calm his sudden adrenaline rush, and she gave him a concerned look.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh, fine. Listen, hold my hand the whole way there, okay? Like your teacher said."

"I was."

"Just- nevermind. We're here now," he let the conversation fade as they turned onto the Karasuno high school grounds. He steered them toward the school gym, Natsu swinging their hands again. The sounds of squeaking shoes and spiked volleyballs could be heard from outside. As they approached the doors, Natsu walked faster ahead of him.

"_I_ wanna open the door. Please?"

Kageyama did not bother hiding his confusion. "Why?" There was nothing special about opening the gym doors.

She looked backwards at him. "Because. Pleeease?"

He shrugged, but gave her the okay to do so. He watched as she grinned at the permission and bounced ahead. Then had to stop himself from making a face when she grunted at trying to open the doors (now that he thought of it, they might be locked already, as they often were once late practice was underway).

"Unh! I can't-!" she squeaked despairingly at him.

He nodded. "You might need to-"

BANG! BANG!

Natsu rammed her small fists against the gym door. "Hello~! The door's stuck! Help?"

Kageyama thought he heard a chuckle from someone inside before the door was unlocked and opened. The elder sibling stuck his head out.

"Hey, there, little sister," Hinata grinned down at her, stepping back as they both entered the gym. "How was the trip?"

"You didn't come get me." There was no blame in Natsu's voice. It was an observation.

Hinata's face became guilty and pleading anyway. "I'm sorry, Natsu! _Sensei_ grabbed me at the end of class and wouldn't let me leave until I took this make-up exam, and Kageyama was the only one with me! I called Mom, though, to see if that was okay!" He lost a little of his pleading look. "Didn't you have a nice walk with your best-buddy Kageyama?"

Natsu patted Kageyama's hand from beside him. "Kage-_onii-chan_ doesn't know how plants grow or how to talk to kids," she stated, reciting information she'd learned recently in her world. Unfortunately for him, Kageyama _was_ the most recent thing she'd learned about.

Kageyama glared at his laughing teammate. "Shut up, Hinata."

"Natsu, is Kageyama your _best friend_ now~?"

"Sure!"

"Hinata, I- just- get on that court already!"

"Ha ha! Cheer on your best friends, Natsu, even if _one_ of them doesn't know how to talk to you!"

She waved to them. "Okay!"

"I'll never send another volleyball your way again," Kageyama muttered to Hinata's back. "_Ever_."

* * *

**TBC...  
**

Post Script - Reviews help Kageyama speak to children.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **Haikyuu! and its characters do not belong to me - unfortunately - they belong to their respective creators/owners.  
  


* * *

Natsu kicked her legs back and forth as she watched the team practice. They were having a six-on-six match, and neither side was winning over the other. Her brother and Kageyama-_onii-chan_ sure were fast when they got to play beside each other; she had a hard time following their attacks and never got to see the ball until it was already on the ground or back in the air. It was cool, but, when she couldn't follow the ball because everyone was too fast, she quickly became bored. So, she settled for staring at everyone's shoes for the time being, sipping at the juice box in her hands.

She was beginning to grasp everyone's names at this point. She could name most everyone on the team, _and_ she recognized their faces. They all knew her name, too! She was 'Natsu_-chan_' to everyone, but some of the boys started to give her nicknames of their own. All of them were nice to her so far, even the ones she hadn't really spoken to yet. Her eyes slid over to Tsukkishima. The blonde had yet to pay her any attention, talking to his team mates and anyone else.

The coach called for a break, and the teams walked near her to grab towels or water bottles for their sweating bodies.

"Like what you saw, Pumpkin?"

She looked up, still sipping her juice, to see Tanaka_-onii-chan_ grinning at her. She immediately brightened. Tanaka_-onii-chan_ was always really nice and _loud_, and Natsu _loved_ to be loud.

He stepped closer. "Wasn't I super cool just then? Did you see my spike?" He imitated it with sound effects.

No, she hadn't seen it – she had gotten bored with watching the practice match half-way through – but she loved to talk to the loud player. She popped the juice straw out of her mouth to speak. "You're super cool, Tanaka_-onii-chan_!"

He leaned back and put his hands on his hips with a wide smile. "Wahaha! Tell me again, Natsu_-chan_! _Who's_ super cool?"

"Tanaka_-onii-chan_!"

"I'm what, again?"

"Super cool!"

"Wahaha!"

Daichi called, "That's enough, Tanaka!"

Suga swallowed his mouth full of water. "Quit harassing kids, you monster."

"I-I'm not!"

Natsu hopped up from her seat during this time, leaving her empty juice box there, and walked over to where the gym bathroom was located. When she exited one of the stalls, she ran into the dilemma of being unable to bend her hands into the sink water to wash her hands. Her arms were only just long enough to hover awkwardly over the sink bowl. A knock on the bathroom door had her looking over to it.

"Natsu_-chan,_ are you okay?"

Oh, that was Kiyoko_-onee-san_. "Kiyoko_-onee-san_," she called, "I can't reach!"

The door swung open and the raven-haired manager walked in, her eyes landing on Natsu's dilemma at the sink. She walked closer. "Need me to lift you up?" Kiyoko_-onee-san_ was nice like Mommy and helped Natsu do tall-people things but didn't make her feel embarrassed about it or make her mad like Shouyo sometimes did.

"Yes, please!"

Hands gripped her waist and lifted her up to give her easy access to the water. They made quick work and left the bathroom, walking around the practicing teams to get back to their spectator spot. Ukai turned to them when they made it back to the benches.

"Shimizu, would you mind getting the team some snacks from the machines outside?" He handed her some money. "I have to do some errands right after practice, so the store will be closed."

The girl nodded, paused, and turned to Natsu, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Natsu-_chan_, would you like to help me get the snacks?"

Natsu, who had prepared herself to be bored again, nodded quickly. The two girls walked out of the gym, but not before Natsu turned around to call to her brother.

"Bye, _onii-chan_!"

He spun immediately to her. "What? Where are you g-AH!" He went down instantly, the volleyball rolling away from his prone form.

"Bahaha! Nice kill, Hinata!"

"Hinata, idiot, pay attention!"

Natsu giggled and skipped after Kiyoko.

The team practiced for an hour longer before the coach let them leave for the day. The sun was almost done setting, the day's light barely visible behind the trees. The lamp poles beside the sidewalks began to click on, bathing everyone in a warm, muted light on their way home. They passed Ukai's store in silence – the building looked eerily empty with all the lights out. It was during this period of silence that Natsu's stomach rumbled. She grasped her shirt in one hand and a corner of Shouyo's pants with the other as many pairs of eyes turned in her direction. She stared stonily forward, a small blush on her cheeks.

Her big brother smiled. "Hungry?"

"Nuh-uh," came her stubborn reply, not sure if he was going to tease her or not, but refusing to participate anyway.

Tsukishima, continued forward. "Hm, so I guess that sound was just an animal growling somewhere. We better hurry home before it eats us." His freckled friend, Yamaguchi, laughed at his joke as they left the group.

Natsu immediately fixed the blonde teenager's head with a fierce 5-year-old glare, not realizing that her brother was making the same face. The others either laughed at this or sent her understanding looks.

Nishinoya pointed with flare to himself. "If there are wild animals around, Natsu_-chan_, your _senpai-onii-san_ will protect you!"

"_Senpai_ and _onii-san_," Suga bemusedly repeated.

Nishinoya simply nodded. Tanaka walked toward her, making a motion to hold her. She accepted, and he lifted her high to put her on his shoulders and grinned at the group.

"Say what you guys want, but super-awesome-brother-Tanaka is the hero here. If anyone's gonna beat down monsters and bad guys, it's gonna be me," he ended this by lifting his hand backwards to her. She stared at it, confused, until realization hit her, and she slapped her hand down on his in a high-five. "Yeah-hah!"

Daichi mused as they began to come upon the intersection where many of them split ways. "We'll be going to the practice camp next week." The others fell silent as they thought on this and the last time they were there, going through punishment hell for each practice match they lost. "Hinata," he waited until he had his attention, "have you, or your mother, thought about what you're going to do about Natsu during this time?"

Hinata glanced at Natsu, and she looked down back at him. "No..."

Daichi tilted his head to them. "I don't want to put pressure on you, but you need to think about it. And soon." He looked at Natsu, who was not sure if she was in trouble or not with the nice but stern teen so she kept silent. "I'm not saying she can't come with us, but, if she is, we need to think about her arrangements. Where she's sleeping while we're there, for one thing; does she stay with Kiyoko and Yachi in the girls' room, or does she need to stay with you? And if she stays with you, we need to take into account that she'll be around a lot of teenage boys."

Asahi frowned. "But she'll be safe with us; we won't hurt her or anything."

"No," Suga agreed, "but it's not _appropriate_. It's one thing if she sleeps with Hinata in his room; he's her brother, and she's young enough that it's okay. But it's another thing entirely to let her sleep in a room surrounded by other, older boys." He patted Asahi on the shoulder. "None of us would ever harm Natsu_-chan_, but Hinata_-san_ doesn't know us that well, and she probably doesn't want her young daughter to be sleeping in our room, even if her big brother's there." He shrugged. "It's something Hinata will have to speak to his mother about."

Hinata nodded. "I don't think Mom would mind, though. I tell her about you guys all the time, and she's cool with the team."

Suga and Daichi exchanged a look, but declined to comment further.

Serious moment over, Natsu began lightly kicking her legs back and forth, letting her heels thump on Tanaka's chest. He looked back at her. "You kickin' me now? You wanna fight, Pumpkin?" He grabbed Natsu's right leg and squeezed teasingly.

She squealed and tried to kick more as she tried to free herself.

"Ow! Okay, that's it," he said as he bent his hands back to grab her by her shoulders and swing her off his shoulders to his left. Now in his arms, he began to tickle her, and she giggled and squirmed crazily until she wiggled right out of his arms and fell on the ground. He froze, guilty, waiting for tears and sobbing from injured knees and hands, but she stood quickly and scurried away from him with a grin, still in play-mode.

She chose Nishinoya as her bodyguard this time. "Save me!"

The libero laughed and placed a hand on her head. "Always!"

"Hey, you think 'Noya can protect you from me? What makes him so great?" Tanaka teased, trying to calm his racing heart from the scare of her unexpectedly falling right out of his arms.

Natsu grinned at him from behind Nishinoya's leg. "He said he'd protect me from animals."

Tanaka sputtered. "I'm an animal?"

Daichi and Suga stared ahead. "I believe that," they said together.

Hinata walked over to his sister and took her hand, having reached the split point. He waved at them. "Bye, guys."

"Bye-bye!"

They waved back at the siblings, plus Kageyama. Asahi gave their new youngest a brief parting pat on the head. Tanaka walked backwards in order to blow Natsu a flashy kiss, and she giggled, refusing to return it simply because she was still feeling playful. His response at being denied the reciprocating goodbye was heard in the quiet night as they walked away.

"Hee-hee! I like Tanaka_-onii-chan_."

"I do, too," Hinata said. "Everyone's really nice."

_Except Tsukishima_, was the thought in all their minds.

Kageyama rustled in his pockets and pulled out a chocolate bar he had been saving since practice that day. He tapped Natsu on her shoulder, and, when she looked up, handed it to her. She gasped and let go of Shouyo's hand to open it all the way.

"Thanks, Kage_-onii-chan_!"

He frowned at the sudden, shortened name, but nodded. "You're welcome."

Hinata huffed at the snack. "She doesn't need something sugar-y like chocolate this late at night. And why didn't you eat that during practice?"

"Because I didn't _feel_ like it, dumbass."

Natsu gasped around her chocolate. "You said a swear!"

"Oh...uh, sorry?"

"Haha! You got in trouble!" Hinata pointed and laughed, condescending, at him.

"Shut up!" Kageyama stalked ahead of them.

The siblings' eyes met, and they smiled at each other...then Hinata took his sister's chocolate away.

"_Nii-chan_, no!"

"Listen, Natsu, you _really_ don't need this."

"I do – I'm hungry!"

"We're almost home, can't you wait a little bit?"

"No, I'm starving to death!"

"Where did you learn that from? You're not starving to death; you're fine – we're almost home! I don't want Mom to be mad at me if you get sugar-hyped!"

"I won't get hyped!"

"You don't even know what that means..."

Kageyama wisely chose to stay out of the bickering. He'd already gotten scolded once.

* * *

**TBC...  
**

Post Script - Reviews help Natsu not get starved to death by her cruel brother.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Haikyuu! and its characters do not belong to me, but to their respective creators/owners.  
  


* * *

Natsu drifted in and out of sleep, but people's voices that she was too tired to recognize kept waking her up in spurts. Her head rested on something curvy and sort-of soft, and her back was slumped. A laugh and a jostle from her 'bed' made her consciousness stir.

"-ooks so funny. She's completely out of it."

"Shhh! Don't wake her up – poor baby. She didn't even wake up when I dressed her."

"It's weird to be the first sibling awake; she's usually waking _me_ up."

More quiet chuckles. Natsu settled down to sleep again.

"Be safe, both of you. I wish I could take her while you're all at that camp-"

"Mom, don't worry – the team adores her; she'll be surrounded by the best bodyguard-babysitters around."

"Okay..."

"Get some sleep, okay? You look exhausted."

"Oh, I'm fine, don't fuss!" A pressure stroked her hair back and forth. "Bye, my angel. Stay safe. I love you," this was punctuated with a soft pressure to her forehead. The voice spoke further away. "If you need anything, call me. I'll get it for you. Or, if she gets scared and homesick, I'll take time off work and come get her."

"We'll be _fine_, Mom. Natsu loves the guys – she'll be too busy having fun to feel homesick."

"I just worry. She's never been away from me for so long."

"We'll be fine. See you soon?"

"See you soon."

Cold air hit her face, making her moan in discomfort.

"Bye, my babies."

"Bye, Mom!"

A door shut, but the cold air did not leave. The sound of wheels rolling on cement followed them. She drifted back to sleep as the motion of walking soothed her.

The sound of an engine close by was loud enough to rouse her. The cold air rested on her face where before she was blissfully warm in her unconsciousness. Something teased at her hair.

"Don't wake her up!"

"Sorry." The thing left her hair. "I've just never seen her so..."

Another voice drifted by them. "Quiet?"

"No. _Still_."

Someone laughed.

"She's not _dead_, Tanaka."

"Leave me alone, it's just weird seein' her all limp and stuff! ...I wanna wake her up."

"Don't you dare!"

"I wanna see those beautiful, big eyes and be 'Tanaka_-onii-chan_'!"

"Get away! You don't know what a cranky Natsu is like – she gets _mean_."

"Naw, not _Pumpkin_!"

From away, a voice called. "Alright, everybody, stay together in the station!"

Her bed finally moved and, while much louder, the new area was not as cold. Natsu stuck her frozen nose into a warm spot and faded back to sleep amidst a squeal of protest.

Loud laughter startled her awake, and she lifted a hand to wipe the sleep from her eyes. Becoming aware that she was lying down on something leather-like, she sat up and saw it was a bus seat. A black blanket, no, a big coat slid away from her shoulders. She looked ahead to see her brother's teammates on the seats in front of hers, talking and laughing animatedly with one another. The sun was up, too. How did she get here? She looked for Shouyo, feeling lost and not a little confused.

"Hey, Natsu," he drew her attention to the seat across from hers, sitting with Kageyama. He moved across the aisle to sit next to her as the bus they were riding took a dip in the road. "Sleep well?"

She took a moment to rub at her eyes again. "Where are we?"

"On the way to the training camp. In Saitama. Remember?"

"Oh..." She yawned and sat up straighter. "When did we get here?"

He grinned at a memory. "Mom got you dressed and ready-"

She looked down at her cute day-clothes, no pajamas in sight.

"-but you did not wake up _at all_. It was funny. Then we left and I carried you and our bags to the train station." He rubbed his right bicep. "My arms are tired," he complained. "You're heavy."

"Nuh-uh," she denied quietly, waking up a little more with each second.

"Yeah-huh."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-"

"Natsu_-chan_," a voice said above her and she looked upwards and backwards to see Ennoshita peering over the back of the seat. He smiled at her in his calm way. "I got you something."

Natsu, at the prospect of a present, sat up on her knees and turned around to face the highschooler. "What is it?"

He held up a plastic bag and passed it to her.

Her brother leaned over curiously while retrieving his _Karasuno_ jacket from his sister's lap. "Looks like clothing."

Ennoshita watched Natsu pull out the cloth. "It's just something I thought would be useful for this trip."

Natsu held up the present and let gravity unfold it. What she was holding was a small black jacket with white accents. She turned it over. On the back was words that she recognized the font as being from her brother's high school. She looked up to the second year. "This is mine?"

Ennoshita nodded. "It's your authentic, one of a kind _Karasuno_ jacket." He bent his arm down to pat her lightly on the head. "So everyone knows you're with us."

"I love it!"

Hinata turned to the elder student as Natsu struggled to put the jacket on over her current outfit. "Where did you get it?"

"Ah, well, the jacket is a regular black jacket that they sell in any store. I had a friend of my mother's monogram the back to say '_Karasuno Volleyball Team_'." He shrugged and sat back down in his seat behind the siblings. "I thought it would help in case – just in case – she got separated from us somehow. Check her tag."

Hinata reached for Natsu's neck and flipped the jacket's tag over. "Heh! '_Return to Hinata S. of Karasuno_'." He let go of the jacket and Natsu snuggled into it, enjoying the feeling of belonging. "Thanks, Ennoshita-_senpai_. I...didn't even think of something like this..."

"I'm happy to help, Hinata. And, don't worry about not thinking of it; I'm just cautious about these types of things."

"How, uh, much did this cost?"

"Don't worry about it."

As her brother turned around in the seat to argue for compensation, Natsu slid off the seat. She carefully made her way up the bus aisle, keeping her hands on the bus seats for balance as the vehicle turned and bumped up and down. She made it to Daichi and Suga's seat first.

"Hey!" she chirped and both halted their conversation to look at her.

"Hey, Natsu-_chan_," Suga cooed. "You look so cute with your pigtails."

Daichi turned back to look for Hinata before giving Natsu a greeting. "Did you just now wake up?"

"Uh-huh!" She paused purposely. "Hey!"

Daichi leaned forward, a slight smile on his face as he rested his elbows on his knees. "What?"

"Guess what!"

"What?"

She pushed into their seat aisle clumsily, the bus jiggling suddenly. "Look what Enno-_onii-san_ gave me!" Once Suga helpfully lifted her onto their seat, she wiggled her jacket sleeves back and forth. "This is my jacket – like yours!"

Suga leaned to the side in order to read the back of the jacket. "He gave you this?"

"That was nice of him," Daichi mused to Natsu. "Did you tell him 'thank you'?"

"Yes...no." She stood up on the bus seat, facing the back where she had left the others. "Thank you, Enno-_onii-saaan_," she yelled back and plopped down between her current seat buddies.

Daichi and Suga exchanged a bemused look.

"Inside voice, Natsu-_chan_," Suga admonished lightly.

Natsu understood, but ignored him for the most part, preferring to run her fingers over her new team jacket.

* * *

**TBC...**

Post Script: Reviews help Mama Hinata to get some much needed sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Haikyuu! and its characters do not belong to me, but to their respective creators/owners.  
**Author's Note (Updated 11/2019): **So, dang, it's been longer than I thought! Basically, job searching and stress from that caught up to me, then, when I found a job, I found I had no motivation for Haikyuu things in general. It doesn't help that the anime stalled after season 3 and hasn't resurfaced as of this being written, even though an OVA is coming in 2020. Instead of this forever being "uncompleted," I have decided to come back and mark it "completed."

This was pretty much the end of the main chapters, anyway. I was going to then write Natsu meeting or hanging out with other teams. Oh! Also, you can blame a bit of this on Aone. He was the very next chapter and he WOULD NOT cooperate. I started that chapter over more than 4 times, and, each time, I could not make it much farther than a couple of paragraphs! I leave you instead with the image in my brain of Natsu chilling out on her new friend Aone's shoulders while his teammates worry if he's A) stolen a child, or B) the father of one.

* * *

Natsu ran down the dimly lit hallway dressed in her rainbow pajamas and threw open the classroom the boys had claimed. "I'm ready to sleep!" she yelled and jumped on the Tanaka-shaped lump in the sleeping bag.

"Guh! Natsu!" Tanaka's voice pitched higher as his form scrunched into a ball at the waist, which forced Natsu to slide off of him.

"What'sa' matter?" She patted the tense form of her friend.

Hinata, laying closer to the classroom windows, used his hand to cover his eyes. "Maybe it's time to see what the girls are doing, huh, Natsu...?"

"I wanna stay in _here_!"

"Well, you're _staying_ in the girls' room."

She stomped her socked foot. "Make me!"

"Oh, I will!" He threw open his sleeping bag and lunged at her. She squeaked as he grasped her arm and used his weight to help him sweep her off her feet, lightly placing her on the floor atop other empty sleeping bags before mercilessly tickling her. "Whatcha' gotta say now!"

"Stop!" she choked out between laughs. "_Nii-chan_!"

"Where's my apology!"

"I-!" she giggled and tried to wiggle away. "I'm s-ah ha ha! Sorry!"

"Sorry for being sassy to me!"

"Yes!" she shrieked.

He stopped, let her get her breath back, and patted her head in affection. "You'll have fun over there. I heard Yachi say she packed...girly things for you to do."

"Don't care about girly things."

"I don't, either, but, uh, you know, you might find it fun." He stood from his teammates' sleeping bags. "Sure wish I could go over there," he said in an unconvincing persuasive voice.

"Me too," Noya lamented in a much more convincing tone.

"I wish you all could go sleep over there," Tsukishima groused from his sleeping bag.

"How awesome do co-ed sleepovers sound right now," Tanaka, over his earlier pain, said with a hand propped under his chin.

"Sounds like the perfect reason the principal needs to disband the volleyball team," Daichi said in a warning voice as he passed by, the talkers silenced and meekly lying down. "Natsu, the girls are waiting for you."

Kiyoko appeared in the doorway, dressed in her own pajamas and ignored the surprised calls from the boys – Tanaka and Noya – in the room. "Natsu-_chan_. Are you ready?"

"I guess..."

"It will be fun," Shouyo patted her head before leaning over to give her a loving peck on her hair. "Night, sister. If you get scared or something, come get me, okay? We're right next door."

Natsu grunted in acceptance, though grudging, and slouched her way pitifully to the door. Kiyoko only smiled and firmly shut the door on Tanaka's and Noya's hopeful faces. She lead the way to the girls' room. Inside, the highschool girls had already set out their sleeping bags, including Natsu's. Scattered around Yachi's own sleeping area were various hair accessories. Nail polish was pushed to the side.

"Ah, um, my mom said this was what you took to a sleepover," Yachi said as she sat on her knees, phrasing her sentence like a question.

Kiyoko nodded as she closed the door. "Natsu-_chan_," she waited until she had Natsu's attention to continue, "what do you want to do first?"

Natsu, trying not to feel too lonely without her brother, concentrated instead on the colorful objects around the floor. She pointed to the fingernail polish.

Yachi smiled and held up some bottles. "You want us to do your nails?"

Natsu shook her head, cheering up. "I want to do _yours_."

The highschool girls stopped smiling.

After many laughs, outrageous hairdo's, and much cleanup of spilled polish, the girls retired to bed quickly, not wanting to be sleepy in the morning when they were supposed to be doing manager duties. Natsu drifted off to sleep between the others' sleeping bags but felt like little time had passed before she woke again, half from needing to go to the bathroom. The moon shone enough light through the windows that she could make out the outline of Kiyoko's back, whom she was facing. Natsu rubbed her cover between her fingers, thinking. It was fun to hang out with other girls. _Really_ fun. She only did things like hair and makeup with her mom. Tonight reminded her of her mother. Which wasn't exactly _good_, because now she was feeling a little homesick. With the others asleep, the room felt even more lonely. She wished Shouyo could've stayed in there with her.

Instead of running next door, she scooted closer to Kiyoko so she could press her face into her back. Experimentally, she breathed in, not knowing why she expected to smell her mother's perfume and feeling her heart drop when she didn't. She felt her lips wobble briefly, and she quickly decided to get up and go to the bathroom. Maybe she could go back to sleep after.

Natsu tentatively wandered the maze hallways. Her surroundings looked different at night, and she tried not to think about that. She turned a few corners, passing the boys' bathroom, wondering how much further the nearest girls' bathroom was – wasn't it just around the corner earlier that day? Once she passed the boys' again, and the pressure on her bladder got worse, Natsu decided to just hop into the boys' bathroom. She couldn't help jumping a bit and the gasp that escaped her when the bathroom closed on its own, creating a dull boom in the quiet space. She listened, a bit frightened, to the silence of the enclosed space. Something clicked and ticked and she wasn't sure if that was a toilet or some kind of...person or creature. Clutching her pajama top, she scurried into a stall to do her business, running frantically out of the bathroom without washing her hands when the flush echoed loudly throughout the building, as if alerting any bad guys.

Natsu had never been a firm believer of monsters and ghosts and things-in-the-closet. Her family was always there to tell her those things weren't real. The dark hallway and the unknown sounds and wind against the windows and trees outside made her rethink that just a bit. She wasn't sure which way she had come to get here, but she knew she did not want to be next to the bathroom anymore. After wandering aimlessly, though, she wondered if she should take the risk of something monstrous catching her to call for help.

Heart beating fast and eyes wide, she swallowed nervously. "_N_..._Nii-chan_..." Nothing happened, but also no one came to help, especially not her brother. She clutched her hands tighter together and moved to be beside the wall. "_Nii-chan_..." Her eyes started to burn. "_N-Nii-chan_." No one answered and no one showed up and a tear escaped. "Shouyo-!" As if that was the only thing holding them back, more tears followed the first, and she did her best to stiffle a sad and terrified sob. Natsu brought her hands to her face. "Sh-Shouyo...! Shouyo! Where are you!" She couldn't help it. She was alone in a different place without her family and she just couldn't-! She began crying out loud. She didn't care whatever monsters were around, it was better than being alone! "Shouyo! Shouyo!"

"Hinata."

Natsu jumped and whirled to look behind her through her tears. Then she had to look up. She registered the blonde hair before she registered his face.

Tsukishima, dressed in a T-shirt and boxers, only placed a hand on his waist. "Got lost, hm?" His mouth and eyes got a mean look, like he was going to say something snarky as always, before they softened. He sighed instead and motioned her to follow him. "Come on, then. Let's get you back to the girls." He began walking away and Natsu skittered quickly after him, grasping a hold of the bottom of his shirt.

Natsu wiped her nose with the inside of her shirt. She also took a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes, the fear she had been feeling just moments before completely gone. Because Natsu was following him so closely, she stepped on his heels every few moments. After the fourth time, she heard a sigh above her.

"Here," her rescuer said, holding a hand out from him. "You're stretching out my shirt."

Natsu slowly let go of his shirt to take a hold of his hand with both of hers. When they began walking again, she sidled up to him so that she felt his hip against her shoulders every step. It made it hard for both of them to walk, but Natsu felt more comfortable than she had since she walked out here however long ago that was. Tsukishima stayed silent.

They passed by the boys' bathroom – Natsu wondered if that was why Tsukishima was there in the first place – and turned down one of the hallways Natsu was sure she had already tried, but immediately took a left around a corner where it appeared there was nothing but a straight hallway and Natsu realized why she had gotten lost if the highschool had branching corridors.

Natsu did not recognize the familiar set of doors until she was right next to them. Tsukishima let go of her hand, and she looked up at him to see him raise an eyebrow at her. This was the girls' room; she was supposed to go in. She looked at the doors, feeling not a little anxious, and, feeling the highschool boy's gaze on her, opened them lazily. Through her procrastinating, Tsukishima did not leave, though Natsu expected him to. Once by her sleeping bag, and the other two sleeping girls, she...stayed there. The sound of the door closing, however, spurred her into action and she ran back to the door before Tsukishima closed it.

He stared at her, but Natsu could not tell if he was annoyed or not. He kept his voice low, a courtesy to the room's sleeping occupants. "What's wrong? You don't need tucking in or something, do you?"

She grasped the bottom of her shirt. "I...um, I want..." Actually, Natsu was not sure what she wanted, but she knew she didn't want to be the only one awake anymore.

He waited. When she did not continue, he sighed again, this time more exasperated. "Your brother needs to deal with this," was all he said before he motioned her out to the hallway and shut the girls' door upon her compliance. He opened the boys' door for her instead.

She studied Tsukishima to see if he was mad at her. Not getting any feedback, Natsu decided to count herself lucky and walked inside quickly before the boy closed the door on her. Once inside, she went straight to her brother, only recognizable by his unruly hair peeking over the top of the covers. Not caring if she woke him up because she was just _so happy_ to_ finally _be back with him, Natsu wiggled under her brother's covers and cuddled up to his chest. She heard cloth shuffling, indicating that Tsukishima was retaking his own sleeping bag across the room. Content and feeling safe and protected, it did not take long this time for her to feel sleepy again.

The morning began fairly chaotically, with the girls worriedly looking for Natsu and the boys randomly – belatedly – finding her in her brother's sleeping bag. Once fast hearts were calmed, the group got dressed into their sports wear. Natsu proudly shrugged on her _Karasuno_ jacket and hopped to each teammember, showing it off. Shouyo gave her a weird look when she hopped to Tsukishima and grabbed his hand to swing it back and forth as she chatted with him. Tsukishima did not really talk to her (minus a mean, teasing comment about not being able to escape her) but he seemed to listen when she talked, so she didn't mind, and she followed her brother out when it was time to go.

The school gym had different teams walking around, their colorful jerseys making Natsu's eyes follow them as best she could while she was walking. The _Karasuno_ team huddled around their own bench area, and, as Daichi began to speak to everyone, Natsu looked around more. Spying a certain blonde looking their way, she waved with both arms, saying hello to her brother's friend who she had seen pictures of and spoken with over the phone once. Kenma-_onii-chan_ gave her a lazy wave before he slowly walked over. Not one for waiting around, Natsu ran to meet him halfway and gave Kenma a hug around his middle.

"Kenma-_onii-chan_, hi!"

He grunted when she ran into him, and he placed a brief hand on her head. "Natsu," he greeted quietly.

"Oh ho ho!" A teammate of his, a highschooler with black hair and a smirk on his face, peeked at them from around Kenma. "Addressing a girl by her first name? For shame, Kenma-_onii-chan_~!" He ignored Kenma's annoyed look. "And, if I'm not mistaking that hair, you're the younger Hinata." He bent down to be level with her. "I'm Kuroo. You're Hinata Natsu, right? Kenma usually has to play a video game to meet a cute girl."

He snickered while Kenma just sighed and looked away. Natsu wasn't sure what to say to this stranger, so she stayed silent and contemplated leaving.

Kuroo didn't seem put out by her silence like her first meeting with some of her brother's friends. Instead, he looked over her for a moment. He pointed at Natsu with a smirk-like smile. "That's cool; is that your own jacket?"

At that, Natsu straightened and launched into how she got her _brand new_ jacket just yesterday, and _how cool_ it was, and that she _loved it,_ and all that she could think about it. She spun in a circle, showing off the lettering for the both of them like she was a model. All the while, the other boy just nodded, 'oh'ed, and asked questions she enjoyed answering - 'who is the mature sibling' being one of her favorite, the obvious answer was she. He even patted her head and gave her a fist-bump before her brother chased him off.

"Bye, Kuroo-_onii-chan_! Good luck!"

"You're supposed to root for _us_! Little traitor. ...Yo, Kenma."

"Yo, Shouyo."

"Yo, Kenma!"

"Natsu, don't copy-cat."

"I can do what I want! Mama's not here!"

Her brother scooped her up against her will, then held her upside down by her legs. Natsu giggled as she watched her hair be held down by gravity.

"So, anyway," Shouyo continued as if nothing was wrong, "how've you been? I haven't heard anything from you since you were stuck on that dungeon level."

Kenma held up a "V" sign with his fingers. "Defeated it yesterday. Barely." Natsu could just barely brush the floor with her fingers.

"Cool! I need to get the prequel; it's supposed to have," he leaned down, grasped her left arm, and lightly pulled it to bring her right-side up in his arms, "more backstory on your party members. I really want it."

"Me, too," Natsu contributed.

"You don't even know what I'm talking about," her brother said as he smoothed her hair down with one hand and held her body with the other.

"Uh-huh. A game."

He stuck a tongue out at her and turned to the other boy. "We've been training a lot, so don't expect this to be as easy as last time. Daichi-_san's_ determined not to do more than ten punishments."

"...Shouyo, ten is still a lot."

"W-Whatever!"

Kenma gave a small smile. "Well, I look forward to it." He held out his hand for a goodbye fist bump to Natsu, but her brother bumped it with his own fist before she could, and he turned them both and walked away purposely before it could be rectified.

Natsu squawked at the audacity of being denied and her mean, devil-brother only laughed. He sat her down – she got a kick to his leg, at least – and went to stand in a row on the court by his teammates. The practice matches had just started.

* * *

**End.**

Post Script: Again, sorry to end it like this, but I feel it's better to be marked as "completed" than forever in limbo. Thank you all who reviewed, favorited, and followed! It made me happy whenever I would see those notifications in my inbox! Until next time-!


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